Call Go4 Marketing and Public Relations Ltd today on 01233 636878 or email malcolm@go4marketing.netto see what we can do for you. Initial consultations are free and without obligation.

Social networking is an increasingly important marketing tool for businesses and for organisations and is an area where Go4 Marketing and Public Relations Ltd has developed considerable expertise.

The company runs Facebook pages for both Step Short Folkestone and for the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. The page for the Memorial Trust currently has close to 12,000 members and has even put a 91 year-old veteran in touch with the son of a long-lost wartime friend.

The veteran, Charles (Tich) Palliser DFC AE, flew with 43 and 29 Squadrons in the Battle of Britain. Now living in Australia, he was introduced to Facebook by his daughter Gill, who showed him how much interest the 70th anniversary was generating through this new phenomenon.

Despite his age, Tich asked his daughter to sign him up to Facebook and he has been thrilled to read and share in the comments and tributes being paid to him and his colleagues from 1940 through the medium of 21st century technology.

A few weeks later Gill used the worldwide network to track down the son of Terry Crossey, her father’s best friend from 249 Squadron. The story prompted a blog that you can read here [link to pdf]. To visit the Facebook page click here – http://www.facebook.com/

If you want your business or organisation to make the most of the opportunities created by new social networking technology, contact Go4 Marketing and Public Relations today.

- - - - - - - - December

All eyes were on Capel-le-Ferne on Sunday 11 July when thousands stopped to remember the sacrifices made by the veterans of the Battle of Britain - ‘the Few’ - who fought to defend this country from invasion 70 years ago.

Go4 Marketing and Public Relations was asked earlier this year to help the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust make this year’s 70th anniversary commemorations the biggest ever and delivered a wide-ranging campaign that included social media as well as features in local and national newspapers and magazines.

The result was the biggest crowd ever seen at the national memorial site at Capel-le-Ferne, on the cliffs between Dover and Folkestone, and an astonishing turnout from national and local media organisations. TV crews from the BBC and ITN as well as from BBC South East and Meridian were all present during the weekend, while the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian were amongst the national newspapers at the event.

The front page of the BBC website carried the story in detail, along with information about a new appeal launched by the Trust in this 70th anniversary year, while BBC TV carried live coverage throughout the day and virtually every national newspaper ran the story. The Facebook page set up to spread awareness of the event now has more than 8,600 ‘fans’. Link to Facebook page.

Go4 will now continue working with the trust to promote the new appeal, which is aiming to raise £650,000 to fund a new educational facility/visitor centre at the site. The idea is to create an attraction that will help young people, in particular, learn more about what it was like to take part in the Battle of Britain.

D&D Autos was presented with the chamber's award for Excellence in Customer Service 2010 at a glittering ceremony in Canterbury.

The family-owned company bucked the recession in 2009 by moving to modern, purpose-built premises just as the economy took a dive. It went on to have a great year by being able to offer its loyal customer base – and many new customers – a wider range of services.

While the company won the award by demonstrating unbeatable levels of customer care, it asked Go4 Marketing to complete the entry form and make sure that the judges were left in no doubt about how well it had done.

D&D Autos, which was also presented with a special Highly Commended award in the chamber’s flagship Business of the Year category, moved from a jumble of different premises in Victoria Road, Ashford, to new premises in Moat Way, Orbital Park, just off the A2070.

Now the company is hoping that it will also do well in the prestigious Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBAs) when the winners are announced this summer. Go4 Marketing has again helped with the submission.

See Award Entries to find out more about how to get your company’s name on a strangely-shaped piece of glass.

- - - - - - - - April

G04 Marketing and Public Relations is proud to have been asked to help the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust promote the 70th anniversary of the most important battle this country fought in the whole of the 20th century.

This year’s commemorations at the national memorial at Capel-Le-Ferne, atop the white cliffs close to Folkestone, will be held on 11 July. Surviving veterans from the aerial battles of 1940 will be in attendance and the day will feature flypasts by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Go4 is supporting the public relations campaign for the Trust at a heavily reduced rate as a mark of respect for the aircrews from this country and overseas whose bravery prevented a German invasion.

After suggesting that the Trust should include social marketing in its promotional mix, the company set up and promoted a Facebook fan page to raise awareness of the 70th anniversary of the battle. It gained 1,000 fans within the first week and the number has continued to rise.

- - - - - - - - February

Speed is of the essence when you need to get your marketing message out there in a hurry; that’s when you need someone responsive as well as creative.

When Ruth Bolam of Ashford-based Fuller Accounts needed a promotional flyer in double quick time to make the most of a marketing opportunity, she briefed Go4 Marketing and Public Relations about her target audience – and then pointed out that the material needed to go to print within a matter of days.

Go4’s Malcolm Triggs had the words written within hours and then offered to brief the designer and oversee the printing, allowing the client to get on with the ‘day job’.

The result was a flyer that didn’t just hit the spot but also managed to beat the clock. Ruth was delighted, the material was printed on time and the Fuller Accounts message is reaching thousands more potential customers.

“I was very impressed,” said Ruth. “I only had to give Malcolm a handful of bullet points and he did the rest – from start to finish and in an amazingly short timescale.”

- - - - - - - - October

With this year’s bumper fruit harvest once again proving that Kent is still very much the Garden of England, Go4 Marketing and Public Relations writer Malcolm Triggs has been interviewing growers for specialist magazine articles..

Despite the popular view that supermarkets are full of foreign fruit, the truth is that English produce is very much in demand, and growers have been investing huge sums of money in new cold stores, packhouses and the orchards themselves.

- - - - - - - - September

A carefully-researched pack of lively and colourful material helped Dartford families get ready for primary school from September.

Go4 Marketing and Public Relations worked closely with Dartford Sure Start to create the bright yellow ‘transition packs’ under the banner: Going to Big School.

The material is aimed at families who have youngsters who are leaving nursery to start at primary school and sets out to make that change as easy as possible.

It’s not just a pack of useful information, though. As well as a story book for the youngsters and a book for children and their parents to read together, Going to Big School includes fun and exciting child-friendly material.

It contains a First Week wall chart and stickers, a dressing-up doll with cut-out school uniform, a lunch box activity designed to promote healthy eating, a colouring sheet and even a game to play, all housed in a useful folder.

“We wanted material that would engage the children as well as providing vital information for parents on how they can help their boys and girls prepare for this big day in their lives,” explained Dartford Area Children’s Centre Co-ordinator Sue Gates.